Singapore regain Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation Cup with last gasp win over Thailand

SINGAPORE – Maintaining a zero-zero mindset made heroes of the Singapore men’s floorball team, as they reclaimed the Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC) Cup with a last-gasp 8-7 win over archrivals Thailand in the final on June 5.

Now the young outfit are hoping that success at the fourth edition of the tournament in Jiangxi, China, will be a springboard to more silverware at the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand.

Singapore coach Sonia Chia was heartened by the spirit of the squad, whose average age is 23, as they clawed their way back from a four-goal deficit in the final at the Yudu Sports Centre.

The 41-year-old said: “We had a good start, and then it didn’t go as well, but we managed to come back.

“The more important thing is how we actually played in the match, given that this is one of the youngest teams that we’ve ever sent.”

World No. 17 Singapore had led 2-0 in three minutes through goals from defenders Gerald Tan and Thaddeus Tan.

But a hat-trick from Pheeraphong Khambanlue helped the 13th-ranked Thais turn the tables, as they led 7-4 in the second period, during which forwards Ethan Teoh and Foo Jun Wei narrowed the deficit for the Republic.

Adopting the mentality that the score is always 0-0 whether leading or trailing, Singapore continued the comeback in the final period.

Defender Keanen Poon, centre Dzafir Ilhan Nizam and Foo made it 7-7, before defender Ethan Wong slotted home the winner with only seconds left to spark wild celebrations.

This was Singapore’s first competitive win over Thailand since the second AOFC Cup in 2019, when they beat an experimental Thai side 17-1 in the final.

Their last competitive win before that was a 5-2 victory in the world championship qualifiers in 2016, when